Portal:Fungi

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A fungus is any member of a large group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. The Fungi are classified as a kingdom that is separate from plants and animals. The discipline of biology devoted to the study of fungi is known as mycology or fungal biology, which is historically regarded as a branch of botany, even though genetic studies have shown that fungi are more closely related to animals than to plants. Fungi reproduce via spores and grow as hyphae, mycelia, and futher specialized structures. Fungal spores are often produced on specialized structures or in fruiting bodies, such as the head of a mushroom. Abundant worldwide, most fungi are mostly invisible to the naked eye because of the small size of their structures, and their cryptic lifestyles in soil, on dead matter, and as symbionts of plants, animals, or other fungi. Fungi perform an essential role in the decomposition of organic matter and have fundamental roles in nutrient cycling and exchange. They have long been used as a direct source of food, such as mushrooms and truffles, as a leavening agent for bread, and in fermentation of various food products, such as wine, beer, and soy sauce.

Since the 1940s, fungi have been used for the production of antibiotics, and, more recently, various enzymes produced by fungi are used industrially and in detergents. Fungi are also used as biological agents to control weeds and pests. Many species produce bioactive compounds called mycotoxins, such as alkaloids and polyketides, that are toxic to animals including humans. The fruiting structures of a few species are consumed recreationally or in traditional ceremonies as a source of psychotropic compounds. Fungi can break down manufactured materials and buildings, and become significant pathogens of humans and other animals. Losses of crops due to fungal diseases or food spoilage can have a large impact on human food supplies and local economies. Despite their importance on human affairs, little is known of the true biodiversity of Kingdom Fungi, which has been estimated at around 1.5 million species, with about 5% of these having been formally classified.

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Gyromitra esculenta is an ascomycete fungus from the genus Gyromitra, widely distributed across Europe and North America and one of several species of fungi known as false morels. It normally sprouts in sandy soils under coniferous trees, in spring and early summer. The fruiting body, or mushroom, is an irregular brain-shaped cap dark brown in colour which can reach 10 cm (4 in) high and 15 cm (6 in) wide, perched on a stout white stipe up to 6 cm (2.4 in) high.

Although potentially fatal if eaten raw, Gyromitra esculenta is a popular delicacy in Scandinavia, Eastern Europe, and the upper Great Lakes region of North America. It may be sold fresh in Finland, but it must be accompanied by warnings and instructions on correct preparation. It is eaten in omelettes, soups, or sautéed in Finnish cuisine. Once popular in the Pyrenees, it is now prohibited from sale for consumption in Spain.

Although it is still commonly consumed after parboiling, recent evidence suggests that even this procedure may not make the fungus entirely safe; thus raising concerns of risk even when prepared properly. When consumed, the false morel's principal active agent, gyromitrin, is metabolized into the toxic compound monomethylhydrazine (MMH). The toxin affects the liver, central nervous system, and sometimes the kidneys. Symptoms of poisoning involve vomiting and diarrhea several hours after consumption, followed by dizziness, lethargy and headache. Severe cases may lead to delirium, coma and death after 5–7 days.

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Ramaria botrytis, commonly known as the caulilower coral, the pink-tipped coral mushroom, or the clustered coral, is an edible species of coral fungus in the family Gomphaceae. Its fruit body, which can grow up to 12 cm (4.7 in) in diameter and 12 cm (4.7 in) tall, resembles a marine coral, and it is identifiable by its white-colored branches with numerous red to orange branched tips. It has a wide distribution, and is found in North America, North Africa, central and eastern Europe, Australia, and Asia, where it fruits on the ground in wooded areas. It is the type species of the genus Ramaria. The fruit bodies are generally considered edible, although they may have laxative effects in susceptible individuals. Scientific research has shown that the mushroom contains several bioactive compounds.

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Join Wikipedia:WikiProject Fungi or ask on the talk page.
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Credit: Dan Molter

A newly emerged Amanita caesarea, photographed in Strouds Run State Park, Athens, Ohio.

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Did you know?

... that some species in the lichen genus Sticta can be used to assess the age of forests?
... that the stinkhorn fungus Pseudocolus fusiformis is commonly known as the stinky squid?
... that the mosaic puffball mushroom can bioaccumulate the trace metals copper and zinc?
... that coprophilous fungi are species of fungi that feed on animal feces?
... that the coprophilous mushroom Conocybe rickenii may be found in large numbers in gardens where horse manure has been used to enrich the soil?

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General images - show new batch

The following are images from various fungi-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Yellow flower pot mushrooms (Leucocoprinus birnbaumii) at various states of development (from Mushroom)
Image 2
Diagram of a mycoloop (fungus loop)
Parasitic chytrids can transfer material from large inedible phytoplankton to zooplankton. Chytrids zoospores are excellent food for zooplankton in terms of size (2–5 μm in diameter), shape, nutritional quality (rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids and cholesterols). Large colonies of host phytoplankton may also be fragmented by chytrid infections and become edible to zooplankton. (from Marine fungi)
Image 3Psychotropic mushroom Amanita muscaria, commonly known as "fly agaric" (from Mushroom)
Image 4Close-up cross section of mushroom. (from Mushroom)
Image 5Young Amanita phalloides "death cap" mushrooms, with a matchbox for size comparison (from Mushroom)
Image 6Salmon with fungal disease (from Marine fungi)
Image 7Oral candidiasis (from Fungal infection)
Image 8Morphological diversity of fungi collected from a marine sponge species, Ircinia variabilis (from Marine fungi)
Image 9The photochemistry of vitamin D₂ biosynthesis (from Medicinal uses of fungi)
Image 10Eumycetoma (from Fungal infection)
Image 11Culinary mushrooms in a diversity of shapes and colors (from Mushroom)
Image 12Maitake, a polypore mushroom (from Mushroom)
Image 13The blue gills of Lactarius indigo, a milk-cap mushroom (from Mushroom)
Image 14
Mycoloop links between phytoplankton and zooplankton
Chytrid‐mediated trophic links between phytoplankton and zooplankton (mycoloop). While small phytoplankton species can be grazed upon by zooplankton, large phytoplankton species constitute poorly edible or even inedible prey. Chytrid infections on large phytoplankton can induce changes in palatability, as a result of host aggregation (reduced edibility) or mechanistic fragmentation of cells or filaments (increased palatability). First, chytrid parasites extract and repack nutrients and energy from their hosts in form of readily edible zoospores. Second, infected and fragmented hosts including attached sporangia can also be ingested by grazers (i.e. concomitant predation). (from Marine fungi)
Image 15Ganoderma lingzhi (from Mushroom)
Image 16Chytrid parasites of marine diatoms. (A) Chytrid sporangia on Pleurosigma sp. The white arrow indicates the operculate discharge pore. (B) Rhizoids (white arrow) extending into diatom host. (C) Chlorophyll aggregates localized to infection sites (white arrows). (D and E) Single hosts bearing multiple zoosporangia at different stages of development. The white arrow in panel E highlights branching rhizoids. (F) Endobiotic chytrid-like sporangia within diatom frustule. Bars = 10 μm. (from Marine fungi)
Image 17Fungi within Ascomycota form ascogonium and antheridium with trichogyne bridge (from Mating in fungi)
Image 18
Roles of fungi in the marine carbon cycle
Roles of fungi in the marine carbon cycle by processing phytoplankton-derived organic matter. Parasitic fungi, as well as saprotrophic fungi, directly assimilate phytoplankton organic carbon. By releasing zoospores, the fungi bridge the trophic linkage to zooplankton, known as the mycoloop. By modifying the particulate and dissolved organic carbon, they can affect bacteria and the microbial loop. These processes may modify marine snow chemical composition and the subsequent functioning of the biological carbon pump. (from Marine fungi)
Image 19Pityriasis versicolor (from Fungal infection)
Image 20Fungi within Zygomycota form progametangia with suspensors during mating (from Mating in fungi)
Image 21The red yeast rice fungus, Monascus purpureus, can synthesize three statins. (from Medicinal uses of fungi)
Image 22
Lichen covered rocks
(from Marine fungi)
Image 23Agaricus bitorquis mushroom emerging through asphalt concrete in summer (from Mushroom)
Image 24Ling Zhi-8, an immunomodulatory protein isolated from Ganoderma lucidum (from Medicinal uses of fungi)
Image 25Phylogenetic and symbiogenetic tree of living organisms, showing a view of the origins of eukaryotes and prokaryotes (from Marine fungi)
Image 26Agaricus bisporus mushroom is a cultivated edible mushroom for foods and has many names such as "champignon", " button mushroom", "white mushroom", and " portobello" (from Mushroom)
Image 27There are over 100 psychoactive mushroom species of genus Psilocybe native to regions all around the world. (from Mushroom)
Image 28Common puffball (Lycoperdon perlatum) has a glebal hymenium; the interior is white when it is young, but as it matures, the interior becomes brown containing spores (from Mushroom)
Image 29Ferula mushroom in Bingöl, Turkey . This is an edible type of mushroom. (from Mushroom)
Image 30Mushrooms are considered a kind of fungal reproductive organ. (from Mycology)
Image 31Psilocybe zapotecorum, a hallucinogenic mushroom (from Mushroom)
Image 32Morphological characteristics of the caps of mushrooms (from Mushroom)
Image 33Onychomycosis (from Fungal infection)
Image 34Tinea corporis (from Fungal infection)
Image 35Agaricus bisporus, one of the most widely cultivated and consumed mushrooms (from Mushroom)
Image 36
Driftwood
(from Marine fungi)
Image 37Boletus edulis, also known as "cep", is an edible wild bolete found in Europe (from Mushroom)
Image 38A mushroom (probably Russula brevipes) parasitized by Hypomyces lactifluorum resulting in a "lobster mushroom" (from Mushroom)
Image 39Morchella elata asci viewed with phase contrast microscopy (from Mushroom)
Image 40A tinder fungus, Fomes fomentarius (from Mushroom)
Image 41Pennate diatom from an Arctic meltpond, infected with two chytrid-like [zoo-]sporangium fungal pathogens (in false-colour red). Scale bar = 10 µm. (from Marine fungi)
Image 42Group photograph taken at a meeting of the British Mycological Society in 1913 (from Mycology)
Image 43Amanita muscaria, the most easily recognised "toadstool", is frequently depicted in fairy stories and on greeting cards. It is often associated with gnomes. (from Mushroom)
Image 44Neurospora crassa life cycle. The haploid mycelium reproduces asexually by two processes: (1) simple proliferation of existing mycelium, and (2) formation of conidia (macro- and micro-) which can be dispersed and then germinate to produce new mycelium. In the sexual cycle, mating can only occur between individual strains of different mating type, A and a. Fertilization occurs by the passage of nuclei of conidia or mycelium of one mating type into the protoperithecia of the opposite mating type through the trichogyne. Fusion of the nuclei of opposite mating types occurs within the protoperithecium to form a zygote (2N) nucleus. (from Mating in fungi)
Image 45Amanita jacksonii buttons emerging from their universal veils (from Mushroom)
Image 46Typical mating fusion of two compatible monokaryons in Basidiomycota (from Mating in fungi)